1. The U.S. in 2008: The Election and the Economy I. Demographic data II. U.S. political process III. 2008 election IV. State of U.S. economy

2. Population Density by State

3. Growth in Minority Population SOURCE: Census Bureau | GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - May 10, 2006

5. Distribution of African Americans

6. Distribution of Asian Americans

7. The U.S. Electoral Cycle Every TWO years congressional elections all members of the House of Representatives (2 year terms) 1/3 of the members of the Senate (6 year terms) November of even numbered years, take office January of odd numbered years Every FOUR years congressional and presidential elections November of years divisible by 4, take office January of odd numbered years presidents can only serve 2 terms 2004Bush (R) defeated Kerry (D) Republicans keep control of both Houses of Congress 2006Democrats win majority in both House of Representatives and Senate 2008John McCain (R) vs. Obama or Clinton (D) + all members of House of Representative + 33 members of Senate 2010all members of House of Representative + 33 members of Senate

8. SenateHouse Democrats 44201 REPUBLICANS 55229 SenateHouse DEMOCRATS 51233 Republicans 49202 Control of Congress before 2006 Election Control of Congress after 2006 Election

9. The Presidential Selection Process 1. 50 State primaries or caucuses held between January and June, each state can choose its own time each party has its own separate primary or caucus 2 purposes to select delegates to go to the national convention to nominate the president to select party candidates for congressional, state, and local elections primary is a vote much like a regular election vote caucus is a set of public meetings where people declare their preferences 20% of Democratic delegates are “superdelegates” chosen by state parties 2. National convention In July the Democratic delegates meet at their national convention Republicans meet in August John McCain has already won a majority of Republican delegates Barack Obama has a small lead over Hillary Clinton, but does not have a majority 3. General Election + Electoral College In the first week of November the national vote is held the vote that counts is the vote of states in the electoral college states vote as a bloc (win Florida by one vote and you win all 54 Florida votes) so in rare cases the winner of the popular vote does not win the electoral college in 2000 Al Gore won more votes, but George Bush won the electoral college and became president

10. Electoral College Results 2004 Size of State Adjusted for Size of Population

11. Three party eras The U.S. party system usually shows historical continuities I. Democratic Dominance 1933-1968 Democratic presidents for 28 of 36 years Democrats controlled Congress for 32 of 36 years II. Divided Government: Split Level 1969-1994 Republican Presidents for 20 of 26 years But Democrats controlled the House of Representatives all 26 years Democrats controlled the Senate 20 of 26 years III. The New Republican Majority in Congress 1995-2006 Democrat Clinton faced Republican majorities in Congress his last 6 years Republican Bush had Republican majorities in the House for 6 years and the Senate for four years Democrats won control of both houses of Congress in 2006

12. Themes from Candidate or Party Websites

14. Voters’ Identification of Most Important Issues to Them Thinking ahead to the November presidential election, what is the single most important issue in your choice for president? 2/1/08 1/12/08 12/9/07 11/1/07 9/7/07 Economy/Jobs 39 29 24 14 11 Iraq/War in Iraq 19 20 23 29 35 Health care 8 10 10 13 13 Terrorism/Natl security 5 4 9 5 6 Ethics/Corruption in govt 4 5 4 4 6 Immigration 4 4 5 5 5

15. Public Opinion on which party can do a better job on issues Which political party, the (Democrats) or the (Republicans), do you trust to do a better job handling ______? Democrats Republicans The economy 52 (44) 33 (45) war in Iraq 48 (30) 34 (56) Health care 56 (47) 29 (37) War on terrorism 44 (25) 37 (61) Immigration 40 (NA) 37 (NA) budget deficit 52 (38) 31 (46) Taxes 48 (46) 40 (44) Numbers in parenthesis = scores in 2002 Numbers do not add up to 100% because of answers like both parties, neither party, or no opinion. Numbers in xxx are numbers taken during the first Bush administration.

16. U.S Economic Problems adapted from http://www.thought-criminal.org/article/node/1018http://www.thought-criminal.org/article/node/1018

17. U.S. Debt Crisis 1. The average U.S. household owes more debt than it owns in assets 2. In 1945, half of all the debt in the world was owed to the U.S. government, U.S. corporations, and individuals 3. Today, half of all the debt in the world is owed by the U.S. government, U.S. corporations, and individuals

18. Number of Homes in foreclosure process Third Quarter 2006223,233 First Quarter 2007333,731 Third Quarter 2007446,726 1% of all American homes were in foreclosure process in 2007 up from.6% in 2006 In the U.S. the home ownership rate is approximately 2 out of 3 households Percentage of Americans without Health Insurance

19. More U.S. Economic Indicators

20. Euro exchange rate against the Dollar

21. Yen exchange rate against the Dollar